Episode 401: Friends and Enemies
Friends and Enemies is the premiere episode of the fourth season and the forty-fifth episode overall. Notes *Clients: Winston *Bad Guys: Hunter Synopsis To stop an impending terrorist threat, Michael is drawn into a rather dubious alliance. He also helps Sam and Fiona run interference between a lawyer and lawless biker gang. Spy Facts Name brands and decor can often tell you a lot about who you're dealing with. Official agencies operate with government budgets. You can usually rule out the idea of federal involvement as soon as you see a pricey antique, or a pair of $1,200 shoes. It takes a while to learn how to read intelligence files. They start as stacks of unrelated documents, but stick with it long enough, and a pattern can emerge. Of course, not all intelligence is reliable. Which means when you're done checking the file, you have to check the source. Illegal weapons sales is a multi-million dollar industry. For a big time gun-runner, it's easy to live the life of luxury. The problem is, when you've spent your career dodging local law enforcement and making mortal enemies, it's much safer hiding in a tent in the jungle than enjoying a piece of beach front property. With thermal imaging and laser target designators, an unmanned drone allows your enemy to launch a precise strike, while staying completely anonymous. All you really know is whoever you're up against has deep pockets and isn't afraid of tying up loose ends. Surviving a drone attack is about escaping the primary target area. That being said, dodging bullets and anti-tank missiles isn't exactly a walk in the park. The strain of having a loved one disappear for weeks affects people differently. Spend enough time as a covert operative, and you know better than to try to predict the outcome of a long-awaited reunion. Of course, some reunions are more unpredictable than others. The tough thing about being marked for death by a criminal organization is the fact that once the order is given, the whole organization's after you. It ceases to be about an individual and becomes about the honor of the group. And when honor is involved, things tend to get bloody. Infiltrating a hostile environment that reeks of testosterone and motor oil is tough, unless you're an attractive woman. The gender advantage ends at the door, however. It's tough to pull off surveillance when someone wants to talk to you. Surveillance isn't always about learning secrets. Relationships are often just as important. Most digital cameras aren't intended to take clear pictures of documents. A handheld scanner, on the other hand, will prevent any contrast or blurring problems. If you have a small enough frame, an old-fashion ventilation system can provide a decent escape route. And it'll keep bigger-boned pursuers from following. It's best to breach a building from two directions. That way your target has to choose to defend the front or the back. If you time it right, both answers will be wrong. It doesn't matter how big someone is. There are certain points on the human body that are vulnerable. Pressure on the carotid artery will knock someone out in 10 seconds, no matter how big they are. Of course, if their big enough, it can be a pretty unpleasant 10 seconds. One of the most dangerous times in war, is when peace negotiations begin. Until both sides agree on terms, you're sitting on a power keg. You know negotiations are off to a bad start when people can't even agree on terms with their own side. Chasing a car with a motorcycle is a tricky thing to pull off. The obvious thing to do is shoot out the car's tires. Problem is, it's a very difficult shot unless you're alongside the car. Unfortunately, it's also pretty tough to hit a high powered motorcycle when you're in a swerving car that's taking fire. As a spy, you don't have to explain yourself much. You can disappear for a month and nobody asks questions. For a certain kind of person, that's one of the perks of going into the intelligence business. As a civilian, you don't have that luxury. Eventually, people expect a good explanation when you disappear, whether or not you have one. Most military bases have a civilian admin facility nearby. They're simple places. Just office buildings filled with cubicles. Still, they're not places you just want to walk into causally as a burned spy. One of the problems with stealing information is that it's usually someone else's job to keep that information safe. It doesn't matter how clean your getaway is. There is always a chance that someone else will get blamed for what you did. Full Recap Previously on Burn Notice: Michael was targeted for assassination by a guy named Simon, his mom was arrested, and Michael went rogue again despite promising Sam and Fiona he’d work more directly with them. The season ended with Michael and Simon getting arrested together and Simon telling Michael that ”Management” owns him now. A hooded Michael was taken to some mysterious location and found himself in what appeared to be a fancy study in a ritzy house. Michael’s preliminary take on where he was ruled out any federal involvement, and his captor told him he was in a place that some folks would call a ”private holding facility” or a ”secret prison,” but it’s officially listed as a ”document processing center.” The man said he and Michael had a lot to talk about and the business about Simon and Management was ”''the tip of a very nasty iceberg''.” The man, named Vaughn, toasted and was pleased that Michael was able to help him. He gave Michael a file and told him to let him know when he was ready to talk. Michael is next seen in a cell, reviewing the file, then he called for a guard. He talks to Vaughn and asks what the files (including information about assassinations and wars around the world connecting to ”''fat bank accounts''”) had to do with him. Vaughn says that he needed Michael’s help. He also says that Simon’s escape was a ”''planned attack against us'',” and when Michael defines who ”''us''” was, Vaughn explains that they were folks the government called upon for help in doing things that needed doing without government ties. Vaughn tries to convince Michael they were on the same side, but he was dubious. Vaughn understands Michael’s frustration and admits they burned him to get him to work for them. Michael says all the assassinations and wars traced back to an arms dealer wanted to meet with him. They fly to a secret location in the jungle to meet him, the arms dealer named Gregory Hart. He said he worked ”for a 16-digit Swiss bank account and an anonymous e-mail address.” Suddenly, an unmanned drone attacks taking out Hart and sending Michael and Vaughn running for cover Michael chooses to help Vaughn and says he could tell that Gary was under some kind of federal investigation. Michael then states that he wants to do his work by his own rules. Michael goes home to see his mom and apologizes for leaving quickly but he was looking for Fiona. Mike gets to Fi’s place and after a very brief, tender reunion, she explains to him that she and Sam are in the middle of a case in which they got tied up with the toughest biker gang in South Florida while defending a lawyer. They were racing to the lawyer’s house, where the bikers were outside. They get to the house and Michael diffuses the situation quickly with a big-time bluff, sending the bikers on their way. However, they vowed to return. Back at the loft, Michael is a little bummed that Fi wasn’t more upset that he’d gone missing, but she punched him in the face and said they looked all over for him. They hug and Michael tells her he was now involved in an international war-for-profit scheme. Fi wasn’t happy. The lawyer was worried he made a mistake looking for help against the biker gang, but Michael tells him that he, his family and friends are in danger. They decide the only way to save Winston, the lawyer, was to convince the leader of the bike gang to call off the hit. So they make it look like it was in the gang’s best interest for Winston to stay alive. They call on their old friend Barry to make it look like members of the gang were running guns through Winston. Meanwhile, Fiona heads to the gang’s bar and she overhears ”Big Ed,” the leader of the gang, telling the guy Michael spooked away from the lawyer’s house that the next guy to come between him and the lawyer ”gets a bullet in the face. Fi slips away into an office where she trips an alarm. She pulls a notebook and quickly scans some documents. She gets away through a vent. Elsewhere, Vaughn calls Michael and gives him a pass to a military facility for his investigation. He was supposed to get in and download some files from a computer. Michael and Sam’s break-in at Big Ed’s place in Boca doesn't go accordingly to plan, but they eventually get the situation under control. But they got their face-to-face meeting with Big Ed and showed him the worked up documents that claimed to show Winston’s connection to his gang’s entire operation. Big Ed calls Hunter, the biker who wanted to kill Winston, and tells him he was calling off the green light. He tells Hunter to come to the house alone. Hunter shows up with backup and after arguing with Big Ed, he shoots the boss in the chest. This started a shootout that ended with Michael and Sam pulling a wounded Big Ed into the car whilst Hunter and his backup guys chased them down. Mike calls Fi, who is hanging out at the biker gang’s bar, and tells her to get all of them over to Biscayne Highway. She baited them in following her in that direction. Fiona caught up to them and set up a standoff between Big Ed and the entire gang against Hunter, who tried to turn against his boss. Big Ed kicks Hunter around a bit and tells everyone to leave Winston alone. He also sends Michael, Sam and Fiona on their way, and they gladly leave. Michael went back to his mom’s house and tries to explain his disappearance. She says it was hard having an FBI agent in her house telling her that Michael was a monster. He explains to her that he was set up and did what he had to do to straighten things out. Mike gets emotional when he tells her that Simon said he’d turn out just like him. She hugs him and tells him that’s not happening. Next, Fiona drives Michael to the military facility he was supposed to get into. Michael makes it in, get his files and leaves, but he and Fi watch as another guy gets arrested because the information got broke out. That night, Sam explains to Michael that the guy who was arrested was a spy, and he was going to be burned because of the information leak. Cast Main * Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen * Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe * Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne * Coby Bell as Jesse Porter * Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen Recurring *Robert Wisdom as Vaughn *Paul Tei as Barry Guest *Rich Sommer as Winston *Andrew Bryniarski as Big Ed *Andy Mackenzie as Hunter *Aubrey Kessler as Darla *George Kokkoris as Earl Trivia This marks Coby Bell's first episode as Jesse Porter This episode was directed by Tim Matheson who portrays "Dead" Larry Sizemore, he also directed several more episodes Continuity Errors 401 Category:Season 4